Monday, April 10, 2006

Kipfler Potato Salad

This is another case of a magazine photo spurring me to try out the recipe. In the February edition of BBC Good Food I was particularly taken by the Pink Fir Apple Potato Salad or should I say I love anything with potatoes but those lovely crisp cubes of cooked pancetta drew me in completely. There weren't any Pink Fir Apples at the market so I decided to substitute the similar Kipfler (Kipflers have a creamy yellow flesh and the skin is a pale brown).

Boil the potatoes in salted water until they are just soft. Drain and peel off the skin.

In a bowl, put juice and mustard, a grinding of white pepper and salt. Whisk these together until amalgamated, then begin to slowly trickle in the oil (similar technique to making mayonnaise). You are looking for the dressing to emulsify and thicken. When finished add the spring onions.

Dry fry the pancetta until crisp over a low heat - this takes about 10 minutes. When done, add the pancetta to the dressing.

Thickly slice the warm potatoes and add to a serving bowl, then pour over the dressing. Toss to mix through then sprinkle over with the chopped parsley before serving.

Notes: You need to keep an eye on the level of tartness of the lemon used and make any adjustments before adding the spring onions.It's quite a fresh style of salad and was a good partner to the Chermola crusted Chicken it was served with.

Growing up my mother's potato salad consisted of a simple vinaigrette and lots of lovely fresh shredded parsley and maybe a dash of lemon. Just good clean flavours - I'll have to give your salad a try!